Posted: Mon, Feb 3, 2003, 8:22 AM ET (1322 GMT)
NASA officials said Sunday that they recorded a sudden increase in temperature on the left wing in Columbia's final minutes, the latest evidence that the catastrophe that destroyed the shuttle started there. In a press briefing officials said that temperatures on the left side of the vehicle above the wing rose 33 degrees Celsius over a five-minute period starting at 8:54 am EST (1354 GMT); temperatures on the right side rose a normal amount, just 8 degrees Celsius, over the same time. Temperatures on the left landing gear area also rose 11-17 degrees Celsius during the same time. The first problem reported Saturday was the loss of temperature data from the elevons; engineers said that the wires that carry that data are routed adjacent to the left wheel well. By 8:58 am EST (1358 GMT) computers recorded an increase in roll trim in the elevons, apparently a reaction to increased drag that could be the result of rough or missing tiles. The new data adds to speculation that tile on the left wing of the vehicle, perhaps around the left wing landing gear door, was damaged or missing, perhaps as the result of insulation or ice from the external tank striking the orbiter during launch, but NASA officials said they are not ruling anything in or out at this stage. Engineers hope to recover an additional 32 seconds of data that may have been received from the shuttle after communications with the shuttle were lost.
